


Unconditionally

by stylinourry



Series: me and you (my soul is yours; we're fire together) [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Anger, Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergence, Fluff, Freeform, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Oneshot, Shounen-ai, Temporarily Unrequited Love, post-698
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-17
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-23 22:59:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2558894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stylinourry/pseuds/stylinourry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>it's inevitable.</p><p>sasuke thought he was doing alright. </p><p>until he realized he wanted him all this time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unconditionally

**Author's Note:**

> Freeform oneshot -- I really need to drown my Naruto ending feels.
> 
> Based on The Last: Naruto 7, with two-year jumpskip since the original. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto.
> 
> p.s **_don't_** talk to me about Naruto 699-700 (unless you would like to rant with me). That shit does not and never will exist.
> 
> p.p.s this was an unbeta-ed oneshot so I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors/technical errors/syntax errors of any kind.

he didn't feel like coming at first.

late March in konoha was still quite chilly, subdued. slight drops of dew fell from the leaves. up ahead he could already hear enamoured chatter, and his peripheral caught an unbidden flash of pink.

it didn't help that he was often the social recluse, closed off to anyone he considered an acquaintance.

sakura was a friend.

the day had reached its midpoint, dark clouds painting the grey sky. years ago, she had been a liability to him and his goals. her childish crush was everything she had clung to.

but time saw her grow into a strong woman. capable, intelligent, sharp, with hands as nimble as a fox, and sasuke accepted that he had been direly absent towards her. even then, sakura loved him, cared that he was absorbed by a darkness he once thought would be inescapable.

she tended for sasuke, much like his own mother. he had always underestimated her, nearly robbed her of her life. that much he regrets like a sour bomb. now, respect was a two-way street within their friendship. sakura moved on. she'll find someone truly worthy of her love.

"sasuke!!"

sakura ploughs into him, her green sweater itching the skin around his ears as they hug. although they were both covered up he could sense her warm chakra - a burst of energy on her birthday, and sasuke can't help but smirk.

"we were waiting for you! and naruto's being an impatient little idiot," she chirps, fingers combing through her windswept pink hair. "come on!" sakura takes his sleeve and pulls, drags him towards a large canopied tent.

the cheerful cacophony assaulting his ears nearly made him bolt. he still has yet to adjust to the return of loud sounds, but seeing people around him that ate off bamboo plates was oddly comforting.

"we're cutting the cake later!" sakura nods at the table they're passing. sure enough, round, vivacious-looking layers of pink and white frosting sit beside a packed foodspread. colourful dango are arranged into cherry blossoms on the top. sasuke's lips twitch.

"ino helped make it! you don't like sweets, I know, but not eating at least a slice is gonna insult her," sakura gushes. "this was a really last minute arrangement, what with us just coming back from the mission and all. i'm happy many people turned up!"

sakura leads him through a throng of young kids shoving each other to get more okonomiyaki. sasuke finds indulgence petty. eat what's necessary, except he knew better than to ingest nothing during sakura's special celebration.

they enter another canopy, this time with familiar faces that surround the present pile in a corner chatting to one another. streamers hang from the canopy ceiling. pink, white, red, purple. a belated valentines day theme.

ino squeals, handing sasuke a cup of green tea. her blonde hair is tied into a complicated bun, eyeliner thick and prominent. "drink!"

she shoves shikamaru in the arm and he jolts awake from his nap on the chair. "shika-kun! go make yourself useful and give me the half-empty platter over there!"

sasuke watches them argue uninterestedly. it didn't quite come as a surprise to him when sakura disclosed that they were finally together during a team 7 dinner one night.

ino used to be as bad a fangirl as sakura in those days. he seldom talked to her unless missions made it so. if she got the chance to, ino struck up conversation.

" _sasuke!_ "

he turns around at the voice.

it's optimistic, booming, excited, too loud for his taste. sasuke knows who it is.

his stomach twists abhorrently.

"you're late! you're always late for these things, teme," naruto yells, a wacky grin on his face.

he's been drinking a little. red is dusted across his neck. naruto's wearing that bloodred scarf. giggling softly at his side is the female hyūga, long midnight raven hair tumbling down her exposed shoulders.

hinata.

sasuke feels strange again. he knows there's a horrible entity struggling to escape his guts. he knows it wants to wreak havoc. his chest is pained, and sasuke refuses to acknowledge that fact.

sasuke is expressionless, silent, lips pursed into a straight line.

naruto waves eagerly at him. "hey! stop standing there and come over here!!"

sasuke doesn't notice when his body had moved; hinata looks up at him, abashed. her pale hands smooth over her purple dress.

"h-hello sasuke-kun."

he ignores her.

"oy, don't be such a pussywart. say hi to hinata-"

"it's okay, naruto-kun! y-you should stop drinking before cake time!" hinata chastizes him. she takes the bottle. her fingers brush upon naruto's, and she walks away.

sasuke's jaw tilts, clenches. he's about to leave.

a firm, tight grip on his upper arm stops him.

"where're you going?"

sasuke stares at him.

a glare is set in his eyes. however it slips past naruto.

naruto's lips crinkle in confusion.

"what?"

sasuke doesn't answer. he takes a step forward, back facing the blonde. naruto's hand is still latched onto him.

"you're leaving already?"

naruto is a tad intoxicated, and sasuke does not intend to dawdle any longer. he was better off alone.

irritation swells within him, an awakened tantrum, and sasuke shakes his arm. "let go."

"you'll hurt sakura-chan's feelings if you leave now!"

sasuke scoffs.

a very brief thought of age-old derision flickers inside sasuke's mind. he may not hesitate to hurt her feelings again.

he shoves that unwelcome thought away.

"i said let go."

"no! not until you tell me why you're leaving when you just got here!"

"it's none of your business-"

"it _is_! it's always been my business to know how you're doing!"

sasuke starts at that exclamation, because it was true. rough tension builds between them, ready to snap from the tiniest brush. for years, naruto had never broken his will, and sasuke was the black speck: naruto's focus. end goal.

naruto accomplished the fated task that repeatedly cost him his life, for sasuke's sake. the uzumaki chased him tirelessly, dragged him back to the village, both of them lacking an arm and sporting critical injuries two years ago.

the valley of the end saw them clash, unite, fall in broken spirits, and the place was now a lasting symbol for the two friends.

ultimately, time was spent mending wounds. they flowed back into the nature of their relationship, and trust became the unspoken promise. they had grown closer. stronger. together.

sasuke took the highest risk, and naruto had seen his vulnerability, his mortality, the severe damage to the uchiha's once flourishing ego. he became sasuke's rock: a permanent fixture that gave him strength.

their arguments were far too numerous, but common. they managed to reconcile their differences over and over and over again. petty squabbles were a defining factor.

they were best friends.

however sasuke concludes this argument would be different. it'll be sensitive and furious and full of buried feelings that are bubbling to the surface after years of being locked behind bars.

and sasuke wants to avoid the question forever.

he doesn't look at naruto as he speaks, tone simmering with a quiet rage.

"you don't own me."

he sensed naruto flinch, his hand slightly loosening its grip on sasuke's arm.

although they both knew that was a low insult, uncalled for, naruto persists.

he's stubborn and hard-headed and more determined than ever, and sasuke predicts naruto's onslaught of emotional words, constantly ready to talk him out of whatever personal abyss sasuke was yet again plunging into.

"did I do something wrong, sasuke?"

the words are barely audible. naruto is confused and frustrated, sounds more upset with himself than the uchiha.

of course he would shoulder the blame instead; naruto overlooked an individual's wrongdoing by miles. he would try to find any faults he might have committed. he'd morph them into ridiculous bold speech that brought his enemies to their knees - to conversion. he'd expose their potential, relate to them.

talk no jutsu.

sasuke had been overridden by the sheer power of naruto's words so many times.

and words didn't come.

painful silence stretches on among joyful noise, and sasuke is aware that party attendees have cleared the space in which the two men were standing. ino sees them from a distance, alongside a handful of their teammates. she's wary, sad. 

he must go.

sakura's birthday isn't worth ruining over this.

"leave me alone," sasuke snarls. he forcibly wrenches his arm out of naruto's hold.

heat engulfs sasuke's throat, and his eyes burn at the loss of naruto's touch. the cold isn't enough to quell the jet of despair and anger that has swallowed sasuke up.

he slinks past the guests. some wonder where he's headed, short glances inquiring. sasuke shouldn't linger.

he pulls his winter poncho closer to himself. he needs to breathe. sasuke's head throbs like an erratic heartbeat.

worse, he could feel naruto's cerulean eyes watching him as sasuke retreats. naruto is distraught, speechless. 

against his irrational judgement, sasuke decides not to leave sakura's party. he'll stay outside the happy fare for a while.

away from someone else.

he stops walking after one block. the silence is calming. doors creak here and there. some villagers stroll through the gentle rain, and the tip-tap of water droplets do little to ease sasuke's grief.

knowing naruto, he'll be following him soon.

how the hell is he supposed to maintain this charade? sasuke criticized himself for almost losing control over his emotions and reservations.

just because of naruto and _her_ -

a light sensation evades sasuke. naruto's chakra hovers a few steps behind him. sasuke's frown deepened.

"I told sakura-chan I needed to talk to you."

sasuke keeps his gaze ahead.

"she wants to make sure we don't kill each other."

he can tell naruto is trying hard to dampen the heavy, electric mood weighing on both of them. he chuckles cautiously. naruto knew he was treading on eggshells.

sasuke begins to scowl.

they have gone through conversations in this manner when the cursed seal was inflicted upon sasuke.

naruto was immune to his silent treatment. sasuke's verbal threats and withheld distaste for things were a cold consequence of being his closest friend. to naruto, there was no consequence: only challenges.

and naruto conquered them each time. he was used to it all.

"I'm not going to kill you."

sasuke hears him exhale deeply, releasing taut stress, and he massages his neck, a bit relieved.

"then why are you mad at me?" naruto pleads. he sounds desperate. naruto needs to _know_ , and sasuke is torn. he's aware naruto will do anything to uncover the reason.

sasuke turns around to face him.

a small chill settles on his skin, and sasuke adjusts his poncho. his visage is unreadable. "figure it out yourself."

he grimaced inwardly. that seemed harsher than he had meant it to be. 

naruto's expression darkens, blue eyes clouded, and sasuke braces himself, but he can't ignore the recurring ache in his heart - dull, hollow, detached.

"how the fuck am I supposed to know what's bothering you if you won't even tell me, huh, sasuke?!" naruto shouts.

he's enraged now, internal confusion towards the uchiha's repellant attitude building to a climax.

"you start acting like a douchebag every time hinata's around!! you think I don't notice? what the hell has she done to you?!" 

naruto's face is smattered with red, and his yells resonate inside sasuke's ears.

_hinata._

he glowers bitterly in response at the inclusion of her name, growing angrier by the second. he was fed up.

naruto's still so oblivious to sasuke's hurt...hurt running deep within his veins for the past two years. it was like an open steamy crack, clouding the air until he couldn't breathe. sasuke did not want to impose. yet he reckons naruto will remain transparent until someone bashed his head into the ground. sasuke didn't care how selfish he was being.

"she's _irrelevant_!" sasuke snaps, sour and fuming and no longer in control of his emotions. 

"why aren't you being reasonable?!" 

"because you're so fucking blind!!"

naruto's glare widens, replaced by one of disbelief.

the sudden pregnant silence disarms him, and sasuke's lips remain hard set, ebony eyes steel. 

"...what did you say?" naruto whispers. his body is frozen in shock. the fury had seeped away from his expression, and he's gaping.

sasuke can feel the immediate rush of blood to his temples.

he wishes naruto misheard. sasuke's tongue is dry, mad at his lack of conviction. since when did he exhibit what his emotions were so easily?

sasuke was always a stoic man.

he doesn't need to hear the obvious answer to his own question.

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

the uchiha's pride is wounded, and sasuke is uneasy, because naruto will find a loophole. he would fish out the truth.

the truth about everything.

"you said I was blind!" naruto exclaims, tone so addled, so astonished, that sasuke wants to punch him.

he waves his bandaged arm at sasuke, and the uchiha closes his eyes, brows furrowed. his spite is present in the way he tenses his shoulders.

"sasuke..."

naruto trails off, says his name. the wind gasps against their skin, and sasuke picks up the rapid rustling of leaves above them, as if they are coaxing him: _the truth, the truth. you both can't hide anymore!_ and his conscience stirs disturbingly. it's restless now, crashes against sasuke's stubborn reservations.

"I'm blind to what?" naruto's voice is soft, as soft as a hush, and he's staring at sasuke in constricted anticipation, those diamond-blue eyes piercing through his naked soul. he refuses to open his own eyes to naruto, to the man that followed sasuke, unyielding, for as long as he could remember.

sasuke's heart pounds, deep and quaky and rumbling. the blackness of his vision only enhances them beats further. 

he _hated_ naruto uzumaki.

he _hated_ his golden skin, kissed by the sun. he _hated_ the strong hands that lingered by sasuke's side. he _hated_ that alluring face and that short blonde hair and that sharp jawline and those broad shoulders and those robust legs and those ugly orange slacks and the way he would leave a horrible foodscrap mess on sasuke's dinner table when he visited every day.

he _hated_ the way he would tell his stupid stories, built arms flailing everywhere, and sasuke would scoff in sheer secondhand embarrassment at his excitement over such useless things.

he _hated_ how naruto's voice was his favourite sound, how his body would tingle around his slightest presence, how they hurled crude insults at one another, how naruto called him a bastard and a pantywad and an insensitive dick while he grinned, perfect teeth making sasuke's stomach contract too hard.

he hated _everything_ about naruto uzumaki.

"please...," naruto whispers once more; sasuke feels him stepping closer, reaching out. naruto's fingers brush his shoulder.

abandoning reason, sasuke reacts in an incoherent blur; his chest roars.

he pulls naruto forward, roughly grabs both of his arms until his grip _hurts_ , and sasuke is kissing him.

naruto moves fluidly, meets the kiss with no resistance, his lips attacking sasuke's hungry mouth and his slender neck and the space behind sasuke's earlobes, and they're both panting for breath, searing heat enveloping their bodies, ignoring the cold.

they stagger under each other's weight, and sasuke doesn't know where he's leading them, but he did not care. naruto's hands cup his face so tight, his tongue invading sasuke's mouth and all of the secret crevices within, and naruto knows he need not ask permission from the uchiha. they walk backward, aimlessly, until they hit a cement wall, and its surface is cold, but sasuke is biting back his moans, head tilted backwards for naruto to feast.

naruto's teeth bite down on an exposed patch of shoulder, the blonde having ripped his clothes, and sasuke is going to punish him for it, yet it's the least of his thoughts, as the uchiha's keen senses are on complete overload; everything he smells and tastes and hears and sees is naruto.

"I-idiot- _ngh_ ," sasuke tries to speak, but naruto is grinding against him, groaning his name, and sasuke cannot believe naruto also _wanted_ this, wanted _him_ all along. how?

sasuke is holding naruto's torso, back pressed upon the wall, and naruto's warmth is seeping through his jacket layers. naruto skins his knuckles as he yanks on sasuke's raven hair, passion boiling hot between them, and sasuke can't take the immense friction that is growing, sprouting too fast for them both to comprehend.

"not here, dobe," sasuke scrapes out, "someone can- _ah_ -see-"

naruto isn't listening, his mouth digging deep into the crook of sasuke's neck, and the blonde's licks are too much, swirling sensuously on the areas where naruto has marked him, and sasuke hisses in suppressed pleasure.

"you should've told me," naruto growls, his lips returning to sasuke's own again, and their tongues dance together, saliva intermingling, slower this time, and sasuke is glad that naruto heeded to him after all. the uchiha sees an array of stars underneath his lids; colours explode like festival fireworks, their kisses tender, desperate, unadulterated, and naruto pants openly into sasuke's mouth, large steam clouds erupting in the frigid air of spring.

"you should've just said you wanted the future hokage," naruto says satisfyingly, kissing his nose, his cheeks, his chin, and sasuke rolls his onyx eyes, long lashes entrancing the uzumaki. he pecks sasuke's eyelids, too. "i thought you were going to chidori my ass."

naruto chuckles, his beautiful teal eyes laughing at sasuke, and the uchiha lands a hard punch to naruto's side. "ow! teme!"

"you were making it difficult, idiot," sasuke gloats, his glare transfixed somewhere above naruto's head. there is no way in hell he would admit-

"look at me, sasuke," naruto intercepts, turning his face.

the uzumaki and uchiha lock stares.

pure, genuine emotions flow, unbidden, and naruto's eyes are glimmering, a mirror of clear blue skies and the vast ocean and the fish that swim in konoha's tranquil garden pools.

sasuke is not used to this, the way naruto is looking at him like the tides have just retreated, _really_ observing the uchiha, and his guard has fallen away a long time ago. sasuke won't squirm (as much as he wants to) despite the sizzling warmth that has possessed his face.

an uchiha does not squirm.

"when, sasuke?"

it takes quite a while for him to respond. he was never one to engage in mushy, emotion-ridden, inexplicably _honest_ conversations.

of course naruto alters that.

naruto waits, patient, his unbandaged hand stroking sasuke's porcelain cheek.

his palm radiates warmth. a fire in the hearth.

sasuke pushes his cheek into naruto's hand, abashed, and he looks back at the uzumaki. his throat hitches.

sasuke is stricken by the _loving_ expression naruto wears, smile fond, open, that it becomes unbearable to see. painful.

sasuke is the reason behind his smile.

he hasn't witnessed naruto smile at hinata like that.

it is then sasuke is vaguely aware of naruto's thumb, drawing circles on his cheek, and sasuke focuses on naruto.

"genin."

"huh?" naruto quips, his lips curling in adorable confusion, and sasuke tries not to slap the idiot.

"I'm answering your question, you slow brat!"

"oh!" naruto giggles, his hand never leaving sasuke's cheek, and sasuke shoves his shoulder in feigned annoyance. "sorry, sorry!"

naruto's laughter dies down, and he contemplates sasuke's reply. his eyes twinkle. "genin, eh? I can't believe it," naruto breathes, his forehead dropping to sasuke's shoulder.

"hn. what do you mean you can't believe it?"

the wind is still, and sasuke suddenly realizes that the grey clouds have waned, with the faintest appearance of blue painting the sky.

"I mean, since we were genin? teme...me too."

sasuke's chest is rejoicing, and he thinks this is a surreal genjutsu, the worst kind, a complex one he has failed to escape from, but he knows it isn't.

this was real.

"like, I thought I was attracted to sakura-chan. she's gorgeous, smart, strong: she used to be what I was looking for, right? then - then you come along and-"

naruto cuts himself off, his arms encircling sasuke as they continue to lean against the cement wall.

"and what?"

"you changed me. you changed everything I thought I used to know about myself. I wasn't alone. somebody _understood_ me. and it was like...it was like a black cloth was lifted from my eyes and I finally saw that the world wasn't cruel." 

sasuke says nothing, amazed at naruto's use of metaphors. other than that, he smiles.

"I had a best friend. our rivalry was something everyone envied. I had the greatest kick out of beating you-"

"don't flatter yourself," sasuke catches his own mouth saying, and the blonde laughs, pokes him lightly in the side.

a moment of comfortable, companionable silence passes, and sasuke speaks.

he has to ask. it's been rotting his insides for two vexatious years, and the monster inside him yearns to keep it away.

still, it was unavoidable.

"hinata...do you love her?" 

naruto tenses, and sasuke is alarmed that he has said the wrong thing.

he expects it already, can picture the scenario within his mind. naruto would let go, snap back to the parallel hell that is reality. he would tell sasuke that this was a mistake, that _they_ were a mistake.

sasuke's jaw pulses.

he starts to push naruto off of him until naruto looks up, his hands cradling the uchiha's fair face; the blonde's gaze, full of clarity, traps him so. "is that - is that why you were mad? because of her?"

the uchiha averts his eyes.

"tell me. were you jealous?"

sasuke snorted. he flicks his chin rather childishly, and he can hear naruto's slight sniggers.

"I am _not_ jealous, dobe."

"you were! holy shit you're jealous of _hinata_?" naruto shouts, and sasuke clamps a hand over his obnoxious mouth. the uchiha's face is murderous, an odd mix of irritation and fondness. 

"shut up or else sakura might come for us," sasuke says between clenched teeth, and the bridge of his nose is a terrible condensed red on snowy skin.

naruto's tongue, having spotted his reaction, darts out to soak sasuke's palm in saliva; sasuke yelps.

"naruto!! what the hell!" he bellows, his blush flaring. sasuke wipes his hand down naruto's sleeve and the tan boy is chortling his butt off, clearly enjoying the rare (sadly uncommon) sight of a flustered sasuke uchiha.

"that was a _disgusting_ , gross excuse for-"

"I'm being serious, teme. were you jealous of hinata?"

sasuke pauses once again, frozen under naruto's scrutiny and his instant recurral back on topic.

naruto is peering at him.

he trusted sasuke. always has.

" _yes_. you happy?" the uchiha snaps, utters it under his breath.

naruto stares, all traces of joking fun gone from his lovely face. the wheel turns within the uzumaki's conscience, and his cerulean eyes swim with an emotion sasuke cannot decipher.

he fears the worst.

"sasuke..."

"if you told me sooner - if hinata hadn't acted on her feelings for me...feelings I weren't aware of - that I was throwing right back in her face, I would have..."

sasuke awaits the blow.

"I would have refused them."

the uchiha stops listening. he has gone deaf, tinnitus ringing in his ears, and the world has crumbled by his fingertips.

sasuke was right.

he was fucking right.

 _they were a lie_.

sasuke's expression hardens immediately. he struggles to erase what ounce of forgiveness, of understanding, he was willing to give naruto, what had developed between them minutes ago: mutual faith.

of course, it all crashes to the ground.

life was an unfair race.

" _get away from me_."

naruto recoils, like he had been burnt, and sasuke's tone is venomous, acidic, more dangerous than they both remember him being.

" _no_! sasuke I-"

sasuke kicks naruto in the stomach, sends him flying into the opposite wall, and naruto yells.

he lands on the dirt ground, naruto's robust arms bracing his hard fall. the blonde, hardly battered, looks at him, eyes heartbroken, visible.

sasuke fights back hot, hurt, insulted tears.

_how could he be such a fucking fool?_

"let me fin-"

"you poured your heart out to me. you _knew_ I loved you this entire fucking time. you said you returned it, and then you tell me about _hinata's_ fucking _FEELINGS_?!" 

sasuke's hatred is a concentration of fire. it flows through his body with no inhibitions.

this hatred isn't like the cursed seal's, isn't the doing of revenge and the product of his insufficient childhood.

this hatred was lethal: a stab into his heart.

there are no people around them, except it would be a matter of time until the commotion attracted some.

sasuke's tone is not loud, but seething, _outraged_ , and naruto climbs to his feet.

now, determination is written upon naruto's goddamn face.

sasuke knows that trait too well.

"don't you _dare_ -"

naruto is gone in an instant, reappearing behind sasuke and bracketing his arms underneath and over sasuke's own. "you have to listen to me first!"

sasuke's dark onyx eyes flash as he aims a calculated punch towards naruto's head. naruto manages to dodge his moves with fluidity, never letting go of his iron grip on sasuke, and the scene is an awful, watered down parody of their final battle.

" _let_ -"

"no!" naruto says, ducking a leg swing that would have inflicted considerable damage to his cervical bones.

sasuke is ruthless. if naruto could stun him momentarily-

the blonde locks his ankles around sasuke's legs, his hand flying up to press one finger, charged with chakra, onto sasuke's carotid. naruto immobilized him, seconds of frozen movement manifest, and the uchiha grits his teeth.

sasuke barely pinpoints the faintest zip of naruto's lips, ever so serene, upon his temple, and he is _sick_ of his games, but sasuke hears naruto whisper, sincere and candid and frank.

naruto uzumaki never lied.

"lately she thought we won't work."

they stay in a griplock in the middle of the street. their fast breathing abates. no one has run after them yet. 

"she suspects I love you. she knows. I...I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop caring about you. _fuck_ I - it's unfair for her. for you. for us."

naruto's words are tearing sasuke apart, splitting his heart open, and salt tears would spill over his pale cheeks soon, because why him? 

"I've always loved you, sasuke."

sasuke's throat constricts.

"please... _please_ don't be mad, not at yourself, or at hinata."

naruto's grip loosens, cautiously, ensuring sasuke doesn't incapacitate him. the uchiha has been silent since naruto spoke.

it's quiet. it's not supposed to be disconcerting.

naruto inhales. he wants to direct his rasengan upon himself. he thinks he's mutilated what love sasuke has had for him, desecrated it, and-

"tell her then."

naruto becomes very hyperaware of sasuke, of the melodic sound of his voice, and he lets go, no matter how much he desires to keep sasuke in his arms.

sasuke turns around. he's looking at naruto, his gaze soft; the uchiha's previous anger has lifted, and nothing but a tiny smile decorates the divine face of the man naruto has loved all these years. 

sasuke uchiha was his best friend, his counterpart: his soul.

"tell hinata about us. explain ourselves. clarify. if she knew, I don't suppose it'll be a problem."

sasuke takes naruto's hand, squeezes it, his eyes downcast in a hesitant admittance of wrongs. "I...thank you. for being honest. It was - immature of me to lash out."

sasuke's pride must be unredeemable now, naruto muses from the way the uchiha avoids his stare inconspicuously.

he is no more than a head taller, but the blonde brushes away the smooth hair from his face. "yo, teme," naruto says, giggling, pressing a chaste kiss onto light lips. "I love you. you love me. it's going to be okay." 

and sasuke affirms that it would.

**Author's Note:**

> " _when have i ever not loved the pain of love?_ " -derek walcott


End file.
